


what you know

by haljordans



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-16 02:05:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9268892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haljordans/pseuds/haljordans
Summary: Hal swears he's got no time for a cheesy high school romance, but then Barry runs into his life and he's left seriously rethinking things.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> just another halbarry high school au :)
> 
> also i'm sorry the summary's so awful, i just pulled it together last minute because i wanted to go ahead and post chapter 1!

It’s not that he hates Guy Gardner, really, because Guy can actually be kind of funny and even likeable at times when he’s not being obnoxious and unreliable and a thousand other things that tick Hal off. He’s only really worthy of Hal’s hate during group projects. It’s just unfortunate that they’re currently in one together.

However, in some cases, rare as they may be, he’s proven that he knows how to keep a promise. So when Guy promises Hal that he’ll meet him on the bleachers after school to figure out who needs to do what for their history project, he expects Guy to be there.

Hal guesses it’s his own fault for getting his hopes up.

A whistle blows, sourced from the track coach and chemistry teacher, Coach Garrick. Hal had almost forgotten that track team tryouts were today, and so he figures he’ll wait for his partner a little bit longer and watch the races. It’s free entertainment, at the very least.

Coach Garrick announces something that sounds cheery, no doubt a pep talk about how _you’re all winners in my book_ and _if you don’t make the team, try again next season_ ! Hal scoffs. It’s so fake, because if you don’t make the team, obviously you’re not a winner. It doesn’t make _sense_ , but who’s he to judge when the most exercise he does is walk to (some of) his classes every day? He’s not a winner either.

A few of the eager runners beam back at the coach, while some of the older teenagers roll their eyes, like they can’t wait to leave the freshmen in the dust.

One lean, athletic-looking boy in particular sticks out to Hal - a sunny smile on his face to match his bright blonde hair. Hal’s seen him in the hallways a few times, usually chatting with the school newspaper editor Iris West.

A nice kid, if not a bit of a pushover, from what he’s seen.

Coach Garrick blows his whistle yet again, and Hal leans back and settles into his spot on the bleachers. Time for the entertainment to begin.

The runners push off from their positions and full on sprint, with the exception of a few underclassmen who can’t seem to keep up. The blonde keeps up with the seniors for a while, until he gets ahead of them. And stays ahead.

Hal whistles, impressed. The guy has long legs, sure, but he had no idea that they were enough to power him through past the older boys. He’s gotta be a sophomore, like him, so it’s a pretty big feat.

The blonde slows to a halt as he reaches the finish line, grinning all the while. God, if his hair wasn’t reminiscent of the sun, his bright smile alone does the job.

“Hey!” Hal calls out. “That was pretty rad!”

He looks startled, a real deer in the headlights. “Uh, thanks!” the boy says, slowly walking over towards the bleachers once Coach Garrick gives him an approving nod and yells “You’re in, champ!”

The boy sits down on the bleachers next to Hal, his breathing heavy. They sit in silence for a while.

“I’m Barry,” his companion says eventually, softly, like it’s an invitation to friendship.

“Hal. Nice job, lightning boy.”

Barry seems amused by the nickname but doesn’t say anything else, just sits there with a small smile on his face as he watches the rest of the runners finish up. He claps for each and every one of them, like the good sport he probably is.

It’s a lot more peaceful than it would’ve been if Guy showed up, that’s for sure. There is the question of how they’re going to finish up their American History project, but right now, with the clear skies and the constant sound of his new friend breathing, that doesn’t seem to matter.

They awkwardly exchange phone numbers when Barry finally announces that he had better get home. Hal walks home happy that night.

So maybe school doesn’t suck as much as he tends to say it does.

* * *

 

The next day at school, he’s walking down the hallway with Guy to their American History class to try and explain to their teacher why, sorry, they don’t have their project quite yet, and ask for an extension.

Guy walks straight into someone, causing them to drop their phone and possibly break a bone.

Because apparently they can’t get through two minutes of trying to be Responsible Students without something going wrong.

“Fuck, man, I’m sorry,” Guy apologizes straight away. If there had been a camera to stare at like he was on The Office, Hal would’ve done it, because he would’ve expected a warning of “Watch where you’re going,” rather than a heartfelt apology.

The recipient of the crash dusts himself off and picks up a stunningly not-shattered phone. Hal takes one look at the blonde hair and blue eyes and he grins.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t lightning boy! And you managed to survive a run-in with Guy,” He lets out another slow whistle, like he had yesterday. “You never manage to astound me.”

“It’s no big deal, it happens,” Barry shrugs, sheepishly addressing Guy’s apology. He turns to address Hal. “And I do aim to impress,” he quips. “But, uh, it’s Barry.”

“Oh, I know.”

There’s a moment of silence as they size each other up, smiling, until Guy shoves Hal a little and reminds him of their endeavour. Guy stares into the depths of Hal’s eyes, asking, _did I miss something?_ Hal ignores him.

“Come _on_ already, you have to be there to help me beg for an extension. It’s a _group_ project,” Guy whines.

There’s a part of Hal that’s screaming _oh yeah, Gardner? Where were_ you _yesterday when we were supposed to work on it, huh?_ He takes a deep breath through his nose and directs an eyeroll at Barry, like being in the presence of Guy is mentally draining him.

“See you around,” Hal says as he walks off.

“Bye,” Barry echoes.

They continue their journey to their American History class, and damn, he doesn’t remember a walk to that classroom ever feeling this long. Maybe it’s just Guy’s eyes burning a hole in the back of his head, damaging Hal’s brain and concept of time.

“Are you two a thing now?” Guy asks finally, as blunt as ever.“Because that sounded a lot like flirting.”

“Like _you_ know what flirting is.” If it were possible, Hal would’ve high fived himself.

The redhead ignores the retort and says, “You know, it’s no big deal if you like him. Barry’s cool.”

The words come out of Hal’s mouth before he can even process his thoughts. “No way, Gardner. Mind your own business.” His friend snorts, only encouraging Hal to continue to hurriedly deny Guy’s assumption. “Come on, let’s go already,”

“Sure, whatever you say,” The redhead agrees with one of his shit-eating smiles.

* * *

When it’s finally lunchtime, Hal is greeted by knowing, devilish grins from Oliver and Dinah that can only mean one thing: Guy did not, in fact, mind his own business. Usually, he relies on lunch to have a good time free of all the things that makes school awful, but Hal can tell that that’s not going to happen today.

He slides into his usual seat across from Oliver and prepares for the worst.

“Don’t tell me the finest third wheel a guy and his gal could have is no longer single,” Oliver says theatrically. He clutches his chest and shakes his head slowly. Maybe Oliver should join the theatre department rather than spend all his time in archery competitions, Hal muses.

“It sure was good while it lasted. We’ll miss you third-wheeling with us, but it’s for the better.” Dinah chimes in.

“Sorry to disappoint, then.  Whatever you’ve heard is a load of shit. Looks like I’ll live to third wheel again.” replies Hal. Dinah emits a loud sigh that he just barely catches in the hustle and bustle of the cafeteria.

He thinks he’s safe from further investigations, but the couple continues to press on. No fucking surprise, really.

“So Guy Gardner’s whole spiel about how he thinks you have a thing for Barry Allen is a lie?” Dinah questions. She and Oliver lean forward across the table, intrigued, as they wait for Hal’s answer. “It’s a pretty specific thing to just come up with out of the blue. I didn’t think you even knew Barry.”

It’s unnatural how quickly he responds. “He misinterpreted our conversation. Apparently he can’t tell the difference between flirting and just plain old talking.” Hal says.

“Well,” Oliver notes, thoughtfully, “you do sound like you’re flirting all the time. Last week I thought you were hitting on me, and although you’re a hot piece of ass, I’ve gotta remind you that I’m taken.”

Dinah covers her mouth with her hand in an attempt to hold back her laughter, even as Hal glares fiercely at her. They both know that Oliver is telling nothing but the truth, which is part of what is making Hal so upset.

“I wasn’t flirting with him, though,” he insists, just to shut them up. “We met yesterday.”

Under his breath, Oliver mutters, “That’s more than enough time to get with someone.”

Both Hal and Dinah make a noticeable effort to ignore the comment. “What’s that you always say?” Dinah coos. “‘ _Blondes are my weakness_ ’?”

Oliver leans over to his girlfriend and cups a hand around his mouth. “ _Barry’s_ a blonde,” he informs her, like this is breaking news. “Coincidence? I think not.”

“I wasn’t flirting with him!” repeats Hal. If he were twelve again, he knows his voice would’ve cracked.

The truth is, he’s confused over what he feels for the blonde, but no one needs to know that until he sorts it out himself.  


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! enjoy!! :)

 It's finally nearing Halloween and absolutely no one will shut up about it in any of Hal's classes. He loves Halloween just about as much as the next guy - the next  _normal_ guy - and his classmates' excitement is bordering on obsessive. And wow, is it annoying! 

So when he slides into his desk at the back of the Chemistry class and Dinah turns to her friend Zatanna to ask her what she's going to dress up as for the holiday, Hal snaps. 

"Halloween is in two weeks, people,  _two weeks!_ Can you chill out?"  

The exclamation comes out much louder than expected, and many of his classmates whip their heads around to look. He receives a few snide looks from insulted kids. Apparently, Halloween is sacred or something, because their expressions are downright murderous.  

"What's got you so upset?" Dinah asks. She lowers her voice to a soft whisper and says, "Just because you're foaming at the mouth over Barry and then denying it doesn't mean the rest of us can't have a good time, Harold." She takes satisfaction at the death glare directed at her, and then looks back at Zatanna to continue her conversation.

With a few deep breaths through the mouth, Hal is able to ignore her and slouch down into his chair to pull his phone out and scroll through Twitter. 

"So what're you gonna be, Zee?" 

"A witch!" The raven haired girl responds brightly. She's cute, that much is for sure, but there's something mysterious about her that others find enticing, while Hal doesn't quite. 

Hal glances up from his feed. "Aren't you  _always_ a witch, Zatanna?" 

"What can I say, I look good in fishnets and leather boots," laughs Zatanna. "What are you gonna be, Hal? Something way more creative, based on your critique, right?" 

"...Yeah,it's a surprise though."

Ha, it's a surprise to him, too. There are billions of possibilities out there that he could easily dress up as, but nothing seems right. Which is a pretty big issue, considering costumes are a necessity for Oliver's annual Halloween party. 

"Ahem. Hey everyone, it's time for roll, so quiet down." begins Mr. Garrick.

The class goes by pretty quickly once everyone stops talking about Halloween. Mr. Garrick goes through a quick lesson on some kind of chemical that Hal doesn't pay attention to, and then they play fake Jeopardy as a review for their upcoming test.

He's the kind of relaxed teacher that keeps it simple to help his students learn as best they can, and yet Hal still is failing the class. Go figure.  

"Great job, guys!" Mr. Garrick says as his students leave the classroom. "I'll see you tomorrow. Have a great day, and make sure you finish Tuesday's reading if you haven't already." 

Hal strolls past the desks, ready to get to his last period, but he's stopped by his teacher.

Never a good sign.

"Hey, Hal. Can we talk?" 

 _Well, you pulled me aside, so I don't think I have much of a choice,_ he snaps internally. "I guess." he allows. 

"Great. Well, Hal, I'll get right to the point." Also, not a good sign. "I'm a little concerned with your grades in this class. You show so much promise, and yet you haven't made much progress." 

Hal doesn't bother to give an explanation. His teacher is just stating the facts. 

"So rather than ask why, I'd like to help you improve by the end of this semester. There are two courses of action we can take, and I'll give you a choice between them. You can either do tutorial hours with me every Tuesday and Thursday morning or afternoon, depending on each of our availability, or you can be tutored by one of my best students." Mr. Garrick's expression is determined once he doesn't receive a response. 

"I don't think it's necessary for me to point out that your participation in either of these is required," he continues sternly. "I'll give you time to think it over, and I'll email you the students that you could choose to tutor you, if that's the road you decide to take." 

A choice has to be made. Hal thinks it through. On one hand, maybe Mr. Garrick would be better at helping him get a better grade in the class, but on the _other hand_ , a classmate tutoring him would probably be way easier and way more fun and casual. 

"The second option sounds cool," he tells his teacher. "Will you email me my choices?" 

"Sure thing!" agrees Mr. Garrick pleasantly. "I'll get you a late pass for your next class, and then you can be on your way." 

Mr. Garrick follows through, and within a minute Hal is on his way to his seventh period class. 

* * *

 By the time school is out, Hal's phone dings to reveal that his Chemistry teacher has, true to his word, sent him a list of students that could tutor him. He scrolls down the list quickly enough, finding it easy to sort the mediocre choices to the more undesirable ones.

Caitlin Snow's far too frigid for him, and there's something about that gymnast Ralph Dibney and his giraffe-like neck that freaks him out. Jon Crane is that weirdo who Hal's heard likes to make smoke bombs and has an obsession with the chemical aspects of fear, so he's not exactly who Hal has in mind for a good tutor. Too creepy.

Pam Isley seems like a good choice, considering that she's hot _and_ a junior, but the more Hal thinks about it, he's heard that she hates men. Which he is. So maybe he should steer clear? 

He's just about to give up hope and ask Mr. Garrick to tutor him instead when he looks over it once more and sees a name that's all too familiar. 

Barry Allen is, naturally, the best choice. 

He emails Mr. Garrick back with his decision and is quickly given approval. 

 _Barry is an excellent student, and I suspect you'll get along well! I'll contact him to see when he's available._ The email says. 

That's reassuring. Now that that's over, his only issue is figuring out what to dress as for Halloween. Thankfully, he's hanging out at Dinah's house after school, so she'll be likely to give some input. 

Oliver, on the other hand, will most definitely suggest something sexy or idiotic, or a combination of the two, like being the sculpture David. ("An artistic excuse to walk around naked," he had once said wisely.) 

He keeps walking down a few blocks from the school. Dinah's house is thankfully walking distance from the school, making her house the ideal locale for after school hangouts. He crosses a street and passes one house, then another, until he sees the familiar, slightly blinding canary-yellow door of the Lance house. 

When Hal knocks on the door, he's surprised to find that it's not Ollie or Dinah who answers. 

"Hi there," Iris West says. It's strange to see her in the doorway of Dinah's house, rather than in the hallways at school. She doesn't fill up the frame of the doorway the same way his other friends do - she's too short.

 "Hal, right? Barry's told me about you. And Dinah told me you were coming to hang out with Oliver while we work on our English project?" 

She lets him inside the house, and the two head up the stairs to their friend's bedroom.

"Yeah. I didn't know you two were working on a project, though." He pauses and gives himself a chance to process what she's said. "Wait, what did Barry say?" 

"Oh, you know, the usual things someone says about someone who flirts with them," responds Iris lightly, smiling, "That you're nice, funny, gregarious. Some other things," She plays the part of a girl who knows way too much all too well. 

"Gregarious?" Another double take. "Wait, you've got it all wrong, we don't flirt. And what are those other things?" 

Iris laughs a little. "That one's mine. And I'm not sure if I'm at liberty to share those _other things_ with you, although I'm sure Barry would if you asked him." 

They reach the top of the stairs. Dinah grins at them from where she's sitting, cross legged on the floor, when they enter her room. "What's this I hear about Barry Allen? He's a popular topic of conversation these days." 

"Well," Hal begins. He might as well tell her now, before she finds out from someone else who hears it from someone else. "He's going to tutor me in Chemistry." 

" _Ooh,_ tutoring? Now that's romantic."

Before Hal can scowl, roll his eyes, or retort, a phone rings loudly. Iris slips her hand inside the pocket of her jeans, pulls her phone out, and examines the screen to see who's calling. A smile grows on her face as she accepts the call and puts her phone to her ear. 

"Hey, _Barry,_ " she says sweetly, deliberately staring Hal down. "Yeah, I heard. Yeah, I'm with him and Dinah right now. Okay, I'll text you later. Bye," 

The second Iris has hung up, and her phone is back in her pocket, Hal groans. "I'm not into Barry, and if I was, it's none of your business." He narrows his eyes at Iris. "Especially not yours." 

She looks like she's about to contradict him, but she purses her lips and stops herself. "Alright, then. Dinah, should we get to work?" 

"Ugh, yes. Hal, will you call Ollie and ask him if he's coming or not? I want your," Dinah gestures at her friends, "feedback on my Halloween costume, but his too. Plus, then he can help you come up with a costume, Hal!"

Hal groans. "Lucky me. Yeah, I'll call him." 

About one phone call and fifteen minutes later, Oliver arrives at the Lance household grandly, a broad grin on his face and a two liter bottle of Coke in one hand. 

"I propose a toast!" He announces once he's in Dinah's bedroom, before anyone can question his excitement or his large beverage. "I know what I'm going to be for Halloween." He strokes his chin and continues, "My chin hairs have started growing, which is a goddamn sign that I should be a character with a beard. And Robin Hood has the best beard of all time,  goatee, so I'm going to be Robin Hood! Please, hold the applause." 

"Not half bad," Dinah says approvingly. "Good one, babe." 

"That's cool," agrees Iris. 

"I know, right? We're so similar, anyways - both hot, blond men with goatees and incredible archery skills." Oliver grins.

The idea is cheesy, but Hal knows his best friend will pull it off and get everyone fawning over him for it. "Got any other brilliant ideas for me, Ollie?" 

The delight in Oliver's eyes is almost scary. 

"Don't you worry, Jordan. I've got _just_ the idea for you."  

 


End file.
